Super Dwarf Retic Breeders/Questions

Hey gang - I'm gathering information as to make an educated decision about the purchase of a super dwarf retic.

I've looked at posts in the "General Pythons (all pythons)" sub-forum and didn't find as much information about super dwarf retics as I have here in the "Giant Pythons (pythons over 10' long)" sub-forum. Am I misunderstood in that SD retics shouldn't get close to be over 10' long if even longer than 8'? I'm probably overthinking but wanted to be certain.

I've noticed a few breeders, Bob Clark, Prehistoric Pets, Vital Exotics, and Chase-n-Reptiles mentioned and was curious if you, as customers of these and other breeders, wouldn't mind tossing in your opinion about your experience to better help me with my decision.

I'm also concerned about the laws as I live in NY and reticulated pythons are considered "wild animals" and thereby banned from ownership based on size. I'm interested in a super dwarf retic that quite honestly is smaller than some red tails and dumerils can get and we can own without the need of a special license, again please correct me if I am wrong in my thinking.

I thank you all in advance for your time and knowledge to better help me make an educated decision when/IF I do so. (LOL IF - who are we kidding here, I've got an addictive personality...if I'm writing about it here, I'll get one eventually LOL)

Well, it all depends on the snakes and feeding to an extent as to how big it will get. Look at Gio's retic vs JM's retic vs my retic. JM's is pure SD, a female, moderately fed i believe and is 7'. Gio's is same SD % as mine but his has less mainland and more dwarf, is male and conservatively fed on small and medium rats every 14 days and is 5-6'. Caesar is more mainland and less dwarf, male and was more or less heavily fed on large and now jumbo rats every 7-10 days and he's 7'.

You can see there is a big difference in food intake between Gio and I for our retics but only about 1-2' difference in size. So it really depends on the snake. If you want smaller, definitely get a male.

As for the breeders, last time i talked to Kris at Vital Exotics, he was focusing on his bison business and not doing anything with retics this year. Bob Clark is ok but from a few people I've talked to, he doesnt seem to keep very meticulous records on his SD %. Same with Prehistoric Pets. Never dealt with Chase-n-reptiles. Someone i would add would be Daniel Solis. I have heard great stuff from him and i believe thats who JM got his Kalatoa from. Also talk to Shannon Roepke. She keeps very good records on her SD stuff and i have heard great stuff. I was going to buy a SD Platinum tiger from her but i ended up getting Caesar from Vital Exotics.

As for NY laws, i have no idea. You would have check your county or city codes. If you checked your laws and it says they are banned citywide, then you might be sol.

I agree with the feeding, that will really influence the size. Also, most SD retics are a blend of Super Dwarf, Dwarf, and Mainland, that's the only way you can get morphs into SD unless you want just normal coloration. For smaller snakes try to keep the SD and dwarf percentages high and the Mainland low. I have a purple albino male that's 37.5% SD, 50% D, and 12.5% Mainland. He is staying pretty small, I'd say about the size and growth rate of a boa.

I tend to feed my females more since I want eggs eventually but try to keep my males on the smaller size, for this male I feed 1-2 medium rats per week. This boy seems to fast more than my female retic, especially around shedding time where he can go a couple weeks hiding in the back of the enclosure. The way I feed my retics is that if they don't move around or come up to the front of the cage I don't feed them at all. I've tried to feed my male when he is coiled up in the back and sometimes he just aggressively strikes at the rodent, so I don't do that anymore. I try to follow their mood swings LOL.

Read this thread thoroughly if you haven't already. https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...nd-Information
Also check out Cody's retic videos on YouTube. Very informative and helpful.
I will say that I absolutely adore my super dwarves. Phyllis, my kalatoa gal, is 17 months old this week and is a touch over 7' already. I imagine 9' is a possibility for her, though she is slowing down on length and getting a bit thicker and heavier now. At three weeks old she was 22" and 56 grams, about a year and a half later she is now about 3000 grams +/-. She just took her first two jumbo rats the last couple weeks at 10 day intervals and honestly she'd probably be fine on larges every 7-8 days. I have a progression thread for her on here too. I got her from Daniel Solis of reptile avenue and he was great to work with. I think he's probably out of SD stuff for the year, he cleaned house before he went on a herping trip to Indonesia last week.
I've also got a Bob Clark 2016 50% SD male ultra ivory. He's 16 months old on Saturday and is maybe 5' at the most. He was fed fairly conservative for his first year at bobs facility and has put on some decent growth in the last 4 months I've had him and bumped him up to med rats recently. He's grown probably around 12" or more in the four months I've had him and I think he'll top out around 6-7' likely. His dad was 6' ultra anery and mom was 11' platinum het anery. I don't know their respective SD percentages but I'd guess they were both 50%. Bob was quick to answer my questions about his background genetics and such so asking is worthwhile.
Advice I'd give is to plan for a bigger snake than you expect and be pleasantly surprised when it's not the monster you thought it could turn out to be. And like Sauzo said, if size is a big concern go with a male and the highest SD% you can get.
As for NY laws... are you in NYC or just New York State? I think the city is no retics or other large constrictors but I could be wrong. Do some research before taking the plunge


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Originally Posted by BR8080

Hey gang - I'm gathering information as to make an educated decision about the purchase of a super dwarf retic.

I've looked at posts in the "General Pythons (all pythons)" sub-forum and didn't find as much information about super dwarf retics as I have here in the "Giant Pythons (pythons over 10' long)" sub-forum. Am I misunderstood in that SD retics shouldn't get close to be over 10' long if even longer than 8'? I'm probably overthinking but wanted to be certain.

I've noticed a few breeders, Bob Clark, Prehistoric Pets, Vital Exotics, and Chase-n-Reptiles mentioned and was curious if you, as customers of these and other breeders, wouldn't mind tossing in your opinion about your experience to better help me with my decision.

I'm also concerned about the laws as I live in NY and reticulated pythons are considered "wild animals" and thereby banned from ownership based on size. I'm interested in a super dwarf retic that quite honestly is smaller than some red tails and dumerils can get and we can own without the need of a special license, again please correct me if I am wrong in my thinking.

I thank you all in advance for your time and knowledge to better help me make an educated decision when/IF I do so. (LOL IF - who are we kidding here, I've got an addictive personality...if I'm writing about it here, I'll get one eventually LOL)

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Hi..... I also have obsessive / addictive traits .. :)

Anyways my Super Dwarf Purple Albino Retic should top out at 6' ( ideally slightly less ) . He's a lovely , friendly yet inquisitive little guy . The dad was 5' and mum was only 7' .




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Mike Carty, over on Fauna Classified, has some beautiful snakes, at least 25%SD. Fantastic temperament, very inquisitive, good eaters. Mike is very informative about his babies, really cares about them, is fine with keeping in touch after the sale.

A permit is required in NY state to keep retics, whether SD or not. The permit is based on species not locality. Reputable sellers will ask to see a copy of yours before they ship you one.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

Some may not agree with me, but I'll own one eventually.

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https://ball-pythons.net/forums/images/smilies/mad.png https://ball-pythons.net/forums/images/smilies/mad.pngI literally just got off the phone with the NYS DEC and I'm FUMING!!!! https://ball-pythons.net/forums/images/smilies/mad.png https://ball-pythons.net/forums/images/smilies/mad.png

I was informed I cannot own a reticulated python because they are venomous. I responded, "With all due respect, may I speak with someone that knows and understands that the species is most certainly NOT venomous and can answer my questions properly." He then went on to say it's because of their size, I informed him that a SD will be smaller than a true red tail boa and then he hung up on me. NYS government at it's finest.

Some may not agree with me, but I'll own one eventually.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

Hi..... I also have obsessive / addictive traits .. :)

Anyways my Super Dwarf Purple Albino Retic should top out at 6' ( ideally slightly less ) . He's a lovely , friendly yet inquisitive little guy . The dad was 5' and mum was only 7' .




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalkhttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...eddb2eef23.jpg

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https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...0b19cd48ef.jpg



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Quote:

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Originally Posted by BR8080

:mad: :mad:I literally just got off the phone with the NYS DEC and I'm FUMING!!!! :mad: :mad:

I was informed I cannot own a reticulated python because they are venomous. I responded, "With all due respect, may I speak with someone that knows and understands that the species is most certainly NOT venomous and can answer my questions properly." He then went on to say it's because of their size, I informed him that a SD will be smaller than a true red tail boa and then he hung up on me. NYS government at it's finest.

Some may not agree with me, but I'll own one eventually.

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When the government forgets that it serves the people, there is a big problem.